Liverpool: New Route Development & Rumours

[Aviador]

Welcome to the general catch all thread for any route news and network gossip for Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Drop your day-to-day findings, and unconfirmed whispers right here.

To kick things off, the network growth at the airport is moving at a phenomenal pace. On the official side, easyJet has just solidified its massive winter programme with the recent addition of Budapest running twice-weekly from November 19, alongside their newly announced winter links to Reykjavik and Kittila in Lapland. These join the summer additions of Lisbon, Paphos, and Seville. At the same time, Ryanair’s sixth based aircraft is driving their massive push into Marrakesh, Tirana, and Warsaw Modlin, alongside major frequency boosts to destinations like Kaunas, Sofia, and Krakow.

However, looking at the wider network gaps and the active rumours circulating behind the scenes, there are a few massive unserved targets that have the board talking. The biggest rumour currently gaining traction is whether we might see another major unserved European capital join the network soon. With easyJet and Ryanair both continuing to build out their bases, there are strong whispers that a direct connection to a business and city-break hub like Madrid could be on the horizon to capture year round traffic. Furthermore, now that Ryanair has fully established its Moroccan footprint with Marrakesh, local travel circles are dropping hints about a potential link to Agadir to expand the airport's winter sun portfolio. There is also the ongoing speculation regarding the Canary Islands and the Eastern Med, with many posters wondering if Jet2 will eventually look to base an extra aircraft here once Airbus delivery dates clear up, or if the current terminal and apron infrastructure will limit how many more based frames the airport can actually accommodate.

What are you hearing on the grapevine? Drop your rumours, and wishlist speculation below and let's get the discussion moving.

If you are reading this as a guest, why not register an account today to share your own airport insights and join the North West's top aviation community!

 

[Silvercity]

Welcome to the general catch all thread for any route news and network gossip for Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Drop your day-to-day findings, and unconfirmed whispers right here.

To kick things off, the network growth at the airport is moving at a phenomenal pace. On the official side, easyJet has just solidified its massive winter programme with the recent addition of Budapest running twice-weekly from November 19, alongside their newly announced winter links to Reykjavik and Kittila in Lapland. These join the summer additions of Lisbon, Paphos, and Seville. At the same time, Ryanair’s sixth based aircraft is driving their massive push into Marrakesh, Tirana, and Warsaw Modlin, alongside major frequency boosts to destinations like Kaunas, Sofia, and Krakow.

However, looking at the wider network gaps and the active rumours circulating behind the scenes, there are a few massive unserved targets that have the board talking. The biggest rumour currently gaining traction is whether we might see another major unserved European capital join the network soon. With easyJet and Ryanair both continuing to build out their bases, there are strong whispers that a direct connection to a business and city-break hub like Madrid could be on the horizon to capture year round traffic. Furthermore, now that Ryanair has fully established its Moroccan footprint with Marrakesh, local travel circles are dropping hints about a potential link to Agadir to expand the airport's winter sun portfolio. There is also the ongoing speculation regarding the Canary Islands and the Eastern Med, with many posters wondering if Jet2 will eventually look to base an extra aircraft here once Airbus delivery dates clear up, or if the current terminal and apron infrastructure will limit how many more based frames the airport can actually accommodate.

What are you hearing on the grapevine? Drop your rumours, and wishlist speculation below and let's get the discussion moving.

If you are reading this as a guest, why not register an account today to share your own airport insights and join the North West's top aviation community!

Ryanair do serve Madrid at least out of the winter period, where ot would actually be quite a cold city break destination.

 

[Aviador]

Ryanair do serve Madrid at least out of the winter period, where ot would actually be quite a cold city break destination.

Ive heard that Madrid is still a good place to visit during the winter months. The weather although cold is generally dry and there's still plenty to do. Hot chocolate eating cheros sound quite appealing 🌞. Some people may even regard it as a better time of year to visit the city as the summer can get stifilingly hot.

 

[Silvercity]

Ive heard that Madrid is still a good place to visit during the winter months. The weather although cold is generally dry and there's still plenty to do. Hot chocolate eating cheros sound quite appealing 🌞. Some people may even regard it as a better time of year to visit the city as the summer can get stifilingly hot.

I think cold and bright is what you should find. Summer is very hot, with no coastal breeze to cool you. Spring and Autumn probably ideal, same for Seville. Or Marrakech.

 

[Aviador]

It is hard not to notice the steady momentum building at Speke lately, with both easyJet and Ryanair pouring significant extra capacity and based aircraft into Liverpool John Lennon.

Between easyJet adding a ninth based aircraft alongside new direct links to destinations like Seville, Lisbon, Naples, and Cyprus Paphos, and Ryanair introducing a sixth based unit to unlock capacity on routes like Marrakesh, Tirana, and Warsaw Modlin, LPL is quietly having one of its strongest years for low-cost network expansion. What makes this growth particularly interesting is how effectively the airport is carving out niche direct leisure routes such as direct links to Seville and Tirana that set it apart from standard regional regional offerings.

This continuous commitment from two ultra low-cost heavyweights reinforces Liverpool’s reputation as an exceptionally lean, high efficiency base operation. However, it also highlights the familiar dual narrative at Speke. On one hand, the airport is proving beyond doubt that its local catchment can comfortably support expanding point to point volume and additional based airframes. On the other, it deepens the airport’s reliance on pure low-cost leisure traffic while the search for sustained mainline European hub connectivity remains elusive.

With passenger throughput pushing towards historic highs on the back of these extra based aircraft, do you see Liverpool’s strategic future remaining firmly anchored as a high density low-cost power station, or is this ongoing volume growth precisely what will eventually convince a legacy carrier to step in with daily hub feed?

 

[Silvercity]

With respect to the hub airline link, it is a big disappointment that Lufthansa had a change of heart. Liverpool wasn't alone to loose its Frankfurt link, but what is particularly disappointing is the effort put in by an airport such as Liverpool to land such a route from a legacy airline, this would likely have taken months if not years of negotiations . Then to watch the route grow in passenger usage and an increase in schedule, plus substitution with larger aircraft on occasion, its all very disheartening.

Of course the route development team will being doing all they can to reintroduce such a service, however in today's highly uncertain climate I actually wonder that this is not the best time to pursue such a service. The tried and tested destinations by Easyjet, Ryanair and Jet2 attracting passengers from across the NW and N Wales is continuing to grow with new destinations being added by these based operators I would expect passenger figures to continue to grow.

So while a return by Lufthansa or some other hub operator would be great to see, it maybe prudent to wait for a more settled period in world events. This would afford such a route more promise of success.

 

[Seasider]

Will there ever be a "more settled period in World events"?

 

[Silvercity]

Will there ever be a "more settled period in World events"?

We can only hope, some more sane leaders arrive.

 

[Silvercity]

Linking on to this post Murcia and Girona have been announced by Easyjet for 2027.